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INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

or  J£r 

GOVERNOR  HENRY  W.  ALLEN, 

TO    THK 

LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  LOUISIANA. 

Delivered  at  Shreveport  Jan.  25,  1864. 


Gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  Fellow  Citizens — Having 
been  called  to  the  Executive  chair  by  the  almost  unanimous  voice  of 
the  State,  I  now  enter  upon  the  duties-  of  that  office  with  the  proud 
satisfaction  that  I  have  the  confidence  of  the  citizens  of  Louisiana. 
That  confidence,  I  trust,  has  not  been  misplaced,  for  it  shall  be  the 
sole  object  of  my  life  to  serve  the  State  faithfully,  honestly,  and 
'.     Zealously. 

Without  any  solicitation  whatever  on  my  part,  I  have  been  elected 
-.  to  the  highest  honor  within  the  gift  of  the  people.  If  I  were 
ambitious,  the  measure  of  my  ambition  is  full.  To  be  called  to  the 
helm  in  these  stormy  times,  to  pilot  the  Ship  of  State,  (I  trust  to  a 
port  of  safety,)  is  indeed  honor  enough  for  any  man.  I  would, 
•  therefore  be  recreant  to  every  principle  of  honor,  of  manliness  and  of 
patriotism,  if  I  permitted  any  thing  but  a  high  sense  of  conscientious 
du'y  to  govern  me  in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  State.  I 
shall  not  falter  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  assigned  me  by  the 
constitution,  but  whenever  the  good  of  the  people  require  it,  and  I 
have  the  power,  I  shall  take  all  responsibilities,  aud  trust  to  you  and 
your  constituent  a  to  support  me. 

My  distinguished  predecessor   this  day   leaves  the  Executive  chair, 

-^and  returns  to  private  life      I  fully  appreciate  the  trials  and  troubles 

x    through  which   he   has    been    called    to    pass.      I   honor   his   spotless 

integrity  and  his  patriotic  heart.      May  long  life  and  happiness  attend 

him,  for  he  has  been  to  the  State  a  faithful  servant 

The  people  having  called  me  from  the  camp  to  assume  the  robes  of 
civil  office — come  we;. I,  come  woe — I  am  prepared  to  do  my  dut.. 
For  nearly  three  years  we  have  battled  with  a  cruel  and  vindictive  foe. 
We  have  suffered  many  losses,  and  gained  many  victories.  Tho 
spirit  of  our  people  is  still  unbroken.  The  fires  of  patriotism  still 
blaze  as  brightly  on  hill-top  and  on  mountain,  as  when  this  great 
revolution  began.  Many  portions  of  our  fair  St;.te  have  been  overrun 
by  the  enemy,  man}-  houses  and  homes  have  been  burned  and 
destroyed — many  brave  men  have  died  in  defence  of  our  soil.  Age 
and  innocence  have  alike  been  murdered,  and  the  widow  and  orphau 
have  been  brought  to  the  door  of  starvation.  The  enemy,  glutted 
with  murder,  rapine  and  plunder,  seem  to  ha\'e  sickened  at  their  own 
outrages,  and  are  now  offering  terms  of  peace;  a  species  of  mock 
pardon.  Dut  what  terms  of  peace  docs  the  bloody  Moloch  nt 
Washington  suggest  to  his  Congress  ? 

1st.  You  must  give  up  all  your  negroes  and  make  them  your 
equals. 

The  constitution  of  the  United  States  guarantees  property  in  your 
slaves — for  Washington  and  Madison,  aud  Jefferson,  were  all  slave* 
holders  under  that  constitution.  Hut  Lincoln's  proclamation  overriden 
all  constitutional  and  judicial  barriers,  and  aims  a  death  blow  at  your 
dearest  right*. 

2d.  You  must  swear  not  only  to  support  the  Federal  constitution, 
but    all    the    nefarious    acts   of  th«   Buck  Republican  party,    vd  tb» 


W*' 


mutational  proclamations  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

•'•■'I    ^  oa    must,    if  required,   hunt    <  1 . . \t 1 1    \.mr   brother   nnd    toot 

r  bind   them    hood   tod    foot,    and  deliver  them  ir>  to  death. 

father  who  baa   sons    in    the  Confederate   army*,    if     rdered   to 

fofaweai  the  land  of  his  birth  or  adoption,  and  aid  in  the  assassination 

of  hi>  own  oftspriog, 

'lip'  fiend  of  hell  in  all  his  malice    never    eODCeiyed  loch  unnatural 
and  infernal  wickedm  n  I 

to  whom  7     Peace  to  you  whose  brothers  have 

bet  d  tlaii — whose  lands  have  been  despoiled— whose  homes  biv<   I 

bum.,) — whom    wives  and  whose danghten  bave  been  basely  iosulted! 

I  -  ':  ■  of  the    mnrderer   with    bloody  hands  reeking  from  his 

•u>n.  who  bow   proposes   terms  nf  amity  to  the  brother  of  hi* 

bl Uog    victim  .'      "lis     the     incendinrv     outlaw     who    returns    from 

bamiog  your  booses  sod  d<  ipoiling  your  lands  !  'Tis  the  black  hearted 
villian  wlio  has  insulted  yonr  wives  and  daughters,  and  who  now  asks 
U)  take  a  ,m:i(  sroond  his  loathsome  fireside  and  bask  ill  the  smiles 
of  bis  own  licentiousness  I  Forbid  it.  Almighty  Gud  I  Let  there  be 
no  peace  between  us  rinfil  we  are  free  forever  from  thisaccuised  race! 
I-  i  'i  sa  to  be  pnrobased  at   the   price   of  reoonstruotion ? 

Oh,  think  not  ol  reoonstruotion.  Reoonstruofion  means  subjugation, 
ruin  and  death.      The   martyrs   of  our   holy    oanse — those  heroic    men 

who  abed  their  blood  fur  us  at  Manassas,  at  Shiloh,  at  Bharpsburg,  and 

a  hundred  othei  battle  fields,  would  rise  in  s  Jenm  procession  from  the 
chambers  of  the  dead  and  rebuke  this  00 1  oly  alliance.  A  gallant 
young  Looisiaoian  was  drying  on  the  field  of  Shiloh  ;  as  I  passed  him, 
he  called  me  to  his  Bide,  said  he  :      "  My  Colonel,   1  am   dyiog.       If  you 

should  live  to  gel  back  to  Louisiana,  tell  m \  sged  father  thai  I  died  for 

mj  country,  and  oh,  tell  him  to  fight  this  battle  out — to  lose  mi:  roes 
and  lands  and  life  itself,  but  never,  never  l'o  back  to  tin-  old  Union." 
Those  word.-  arff  ^till  ringing  in  my  <*ars,  and  I  tell  them  toy 00  to  day  : 
"  Lu^e  negroes,  lose  hods,  lose  every  thing,  lose  life  itself/'  but  never 
think  ot  reconstruction.  There  is  a  sea  of  blood  between  us,  we 
cannot  pass  that  sea  Let  OS  rather  add  thereto  a  wall  of  living  tire, 
nnd  a  gulf,  deep  and  dark  of  eternal  h-te.  1  speak  to-day  by  authority, 
1  speak  as  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  I  wish  it  known 
at  Washington  and  elsewhere,  that  rather  than  reconstruct  this 
srhraent  snd  go  bsok  to  the  Union,  on  any  terms  whatever,  the 
people  of  Louisiaoa  will,  in  convention  assembled,  without  a  dissecting 
roice',  cede  the  State  to  any  tiurnpean  power,  (live  as  the  guillotine 
■•r  Botany  Bay,  the  knout,  or  Siberia,  the  bow  string  or  the  Bosphorus, 
nil  her  than  snffer  the  brutal  ontragos  of  Yankee  subjugation.     1  speak 

til  day  not  only  lor  the  loyal  citizens  of  Louisiana  who  have  stood  by 
the  State  in  all  her  trials,  but  in  behalf    of  the    misguided     individuals 

trim  have  been  compelled  tn  take  the  oath  ot  sllegisnce  to  the 
I  rlcrn I  Government.  In  their  hearts  they  are  true  to  us,  sod  are 
piaviii'j  daily  tor  the  triumph  of  our  arms.      They   have    felt    the  very 

fciuls,  and    know  full  well  the  curse   of  r< nstruction.      I 

►  peak  by  authority,  for  they  write  me  daily,  that  tiny  would  rather,  by 
ten  thousand  tunes,  bp  the  subjects  ot  the  Kiuperor  of  France,  than 
•  hi  Muahaiii  Lincoln.      If  God  in  llin  inscrutable  1'rovidence, 

should  permit  the  eneiiiy  to  ov.rwl  (hu  us,  then  Ictus  retire  to  our 
mountains  and  onr  caves,  nnd  tl>  re  lei  os  swear  by  the  blood  of  our 
murdered  fathers  and  brother* — by  the eufreringsand   the   insults  of 

our  mothers,  wi\-s.  and  sisters,  that  we  will  issue  forth  and  hunt  the 
enemy,  as  we  hunt  the  wild  beast  of  the  forest.  Oh  !  frive  us 
honorable  graves  by  far,  in  preference  to  base  servitude,  to  chains  and 

.slavery. 


"Ay el  better  be 
Where  the  ensanguined  Spartans  still  are  free, 
In  their  pr.uiJ  charnel  of  Thermopylae." 

The  despot  who  now  sits  upon  the  Federal  throne,  is  doubtless 
dreaming  of  the  axe  and  halter — of  the  rack  and  dungeon — where- 
withal to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  his  supposed  rebellious  subjects.  So 
once, 

"At  midnight   in  his  guarded  tent, 
The  Turk  was  dreaming  of  the  hour 
When  Greece,  her  knee  in  suppliance  bent, 
Should  tremble  at  his  power." 

Morning  came — Marco  Bozarris  was  there.  The  Turk  it  was  that 
died,  aud  Greece  was  free.  Our  Bozarris  will  yet  live  to  see  the  proud 
oppressor  humbled  in  the  dust.  The  history  of  the  world  does  not 
show  a  solitary  instance  wherein  six  millions  of  brave  people,  deter- 
mined to  be  free,  were  ever  conquered.  The  wars  of  Scotland  began 
by  Sir  William  Wallace  and  the  Bruce,  were  carried  on  for  a  century 
against  the  power  of  England,  and  would  have  been  continued  to  ihis 
day  by  the  brave  Scots,  but  Scotland's  King  became  Sovereign  of  the 
Realm.  The  history  of  the  Netherlands  aud  the  Low  Countries  is  full 
of  interest — full  of  encouragement  to  every  patriot's  heart.  The 
militia,  a  mere  mob,  badly  officered,  and  poorly  armed  and  equipped, 
fought  the  armies  of  Spain,  then  the  "  harnessed  chivalry"  of  Europe, 
for  years  and  years,  one  generation  taking  up  the  war  where  the  other 
had  left  it,  until  the  Dutch  Republic  finally  triumphed  But  the 
history  of  the  American  Revolution  claims  our  attention  more  than  any 
other.  We  have  as  yet  fought  but  three;  our  fathers  fought  for  seveu 
long  years.  At  one  time  all  their  ports  were  more  closely  blockaded 
than  ours — Boston  and  New  York  and  Philadelphia — Baltimore, 
Norfolk,  Charleston  and  Savannah,  were  all  in  the  hands  of  the  British, 
and  remained  in  their  possession  for  years.  After  a  most  disastrous 
campaign,  Gen.  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware  with  only  three 
thousand  weary-worn  soldiers.  He  had  no  army  stores,  no  parks  of 
artillery,  no  arsenals,  no  founderies— still  he  did  not  despair.  He 
trusted  in  God  and  fought  the  British,  and  at  Yorktown  gained  our 
independence.  Should  you  be  despondent  when  you  have  an  army  of 
three  hundred  thousand  men  in  the  field,  commanded  by  such  generals 
as  Lee,  Beauregard  and  Johnston  ?  After  all  our  wars  aud  sieges  and 
buttle* — aft  r  disease  and  death  have  done  their  work,  we  still  have  in 
thin  Confederacy,  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  fifty,  700,OOQ  men. 
Tin-  two  States  of  Georgia  and  Alabama  alone  cau  easily  furnish  the 
entire  Confederacy,  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  with  corn.  South 
Carolina  furnishes  the  rice  and  Florida  the  beef.  Who  talks  then  of 
despair?  who  ie  desponding 7  Lei  the  croaker  go  to  his  wife,  if  foe 
has  one.  and  tie  himself  to  her  aprou  strings,  and  nurse  the  children 
the  rest  of  his  days  !  Providen  -c  has  smiled  upon  the  land  every  wh 
and  blessed  as  w.th  bread  in  abundance,  den.  Marion  lived  upon 
hard  fare — Gen  Lee  does  the  same;  he  lives  on  the  same  fare  with  the 
humblest  soldier.  But  they  all  have  enough.  The  heart  must  be 
ungrateful  indeed,  that  murmurs  now,  when  we  have  carried  on  this 
great  struggle  for  three  yean    imd  still  there  is  plenty  in  the  (and. 

Our  people,  it  is  true,  bare  suffered  much,  hit  they  bear  their  lot 

with  patriotic  fortitude.      Jfes,  '>ur  people   have    suffered — how    m>. 
the   Almighty    Ruler   of  the    U  trireme   only  knows.     The  world  wi.i 
never  know.     In  the  country  parishes,  black  desolation  i-  ftued  m  the 
trail  ef  the  despotW'.     Farm  houses  have  1 nefcrtpp 

413376 


m*  furniture — barns  and  fence*  destroyed,  the  implenmts  of  hasbandry 
have  been  burnt,  and    the    very    cloth   of  the  poor  widow  has  been  cut 
the  loon  bv  thfl  oroVr    of  Yankee  Generals.      In  our  cities  it  lias 
been    won  Boast    Butler  came   t"   New  Orleans  a  poor  New 

England  bankrupt,  with  empty  pocki  ta  and  a  lie  npon  hi<  coward  lips. 
II-'  left  that  devoted  city  with  the  maledictions  of  all,  for  he  basely 
insulted  the  women  and    robbed   the   men.     The  untold   millions   of 

wealth  that  this  Bessl  Stole  10  New  Orleans  are  only  known  to  himself 
and  his  robber  brother. 

Benjamin  F   Butler,  of  Massachusetts,  T  arraign  von  to-day  at   the 

bar  of  the  civilized  w.>rld.  You  told  the  people  of  New  Orleans,  upon 
y<'iir  arrival  there,  that  none  should  be  compelled  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Federal  Government,  but  that  it  was  a  privilege  to  bo 
Sought    after    by    the   citizens,      lint  just    so  BOOO  as  you  had  them  in 

your  power,  you  required  every  man  am)  woman  in  the  city  to  eomo 
forward  and  take  that  oath.  Many  left,  and  many  stayed  and  registered 
themselves  as  enemies.  Then  began  by  your  orders  the  most  outrageous 
promiscuous  plundering  that  was  ever  witnessed  on  this  continent.  It 
was  indeed  the  saturnalia  of  thieves  All  were  robbed  who  came  under 
the  ban  of  yOUf  displeasure.  A  very  respectable  merchant  of  that 
city,  a  non-combatant,  finding  that  ho.  like  all  his  friends  and  neighbors, 

Would  be  robbed,  sold  his  silver  plate,  a  large  and  valuable  set,  to  a 
widow    lady    to    whom    he    was   indebted.      This  lady  put  the  plate  on 

board  a  Danish  ship,  and  took  bills  of  lading  for  same.  You  beard  of 
it.    sent   armed   soldiery,  took   the  ship,  broke  open  the  hatches,  and 

■eiied  the  plate.  Not  satisfied  with  that,  you  sent  this  merchant  to 
Ship  Island,  and  kept  him  there,  t  hard  labor  for  months,  until  Gen. 
Banks  released  him.  You  arrested  another  merchant,  and  demanded 
his  plate — he  informed  you  hd  had  sent  it  off.  Your  reply  was,  "the 
plate  or  Ship  Island."  Finding  that  you  could  n<  t  L'et  the  plate,  you 
released  him  npon  his  paying  you   a   large   amount   of  money,   which 

money  you  pocketed.  These  are  facts  sworn  to  and  subscribed  in  my 
office,  and  I  record  them  here  to  show  to  the  civilized  world  how  the 
people  of  Louisiana  have  been  treated  by  one  of  the  Satraps  of 
Abraham    Lincoln.      Every   Sabbath    morning,   the  thieves   met  at 

the  don  of  the  Besst,  and  the  Stealings  of  the  past  week  were 
divided  out.  To  the  j:i  kals  he  gave  the  spoons  and  trinkets, 
but  reserved  to  himself  the  linn's  share,  the  coin,  the  plate  and  the 
jewels.      A  large  portion  of  the  moveable  wealth    of  the    city    of  New 

Orleans  and  lower  Louisiana,  has  been  transferred  to  the  pockets  of 
this  blear-eyed,  incarnate  devil — a  great  part  of  which  he  put  into 
foreign  exohange  and  sent  to  Europe  ;  and  now  he  is  by  far  the  richest 
man  on  the  continent.  He  can  loan  money  to  the  Rotbohilds,  and  buy 
out  the  wealthiest  citizen  of  Now  York.  Cicero  has  given  the  name 
of  Verres  immortal  infamy,  and  that  of  Butler  is  now  known  through- 
out the  civtiised  World  BS  a  synonym  for  crime,  cowardice  and  brutality. 

When  the  Southern  student  shall  in  future  ages  study  the  olassics,  as 
he  reads  thai  beautiful  oration  of  Cicero  against  Verres,  he  will 
involuntary  pause,  and  for  the  Sicilian  robber,  will  read,  Butler,  tl  6 
Beast  !  *•  1  as*,  now,  Verres,  what  hast  thou  to  say  against  thj3 
ehsi  I  ask  now,  Butler  the   Beast,  what  hast  thou  to  say  against 

thy  «lark  and  damning  crimes?     At  the  dead  hour  of  night,  icon  the 
false  accusation  of  a  negro  woman,    you    dragged    from  a  sick  bed,  an 
I  man,  one  of  the  most  respectable   citizens    of  New   Orleans,    and 
thrust  him  into  a  cold  and  miserable  cell.      He  died  of  your  treatment. 

His  wife,  an  amiable,  well  bred  and  lovely  woman,  went  to  you,  and 
up  on  her  knees  begged  for  her  husband.  Yon  held  a  loaded  pistol  to 
the  weeping  face  of  that  lady,  and  drove  her  from  your  bloated  presence 
with  the  -mist  vulgar  and  obscene  oaths.  With  the  fiendish  heart  of 
the  hyen     you  hire  open  the  t«ml    of  Gen.    Albert  Sidn«v  Johnson 


and  robbed  th?  grave  of  thnt  gallant  soldier.  Yon  may  nfrrr  fei  1  rh« 
halter  draw  in  this  world.  You  may  live  to  old  age,  and  possibly  dio 
in  your  bed,  with  your  stolen  propei  ty  around  you.  But  a  day  will 
conic,  tlie  "  dies  irce"  will  come,  when  you  shall  rneit  face  ti>  face  the 
■women  you  have  brutally  insulted,  ami  ih'.'  n  on  you  have  robbed  ami 
murdered,  at  the  bar  of  an  avenging  God  !  Beware  the  fate  of  Verres, 
he  died  a  felon's  death  Mark  Anthony  demanded  a  portion  of  his 
ill-gotten  enins,  he  refused  and  was  slain.  When  lead  to  death  he 
begged  for  that  mercy  he  had  so  often  denied  to  others.  The  spirits 
of  your  murdered  victims  say,  beware!  'I  he  living  friends  of  the 
dead  say,  beware!  "The  patient  search  and  vigil  long"  will  find  you 
out.  and  drag  you  from  your  hiding  place.  Your  coat  of  mail  will  nut 
Bave  you,  fur  your  hour  will   eoiile  at  last. 

There  is  in  the  Vatican  at  Rome,  an  extraordinary  painting,  by  one 
of  the  old  masters.  It  is  called  the  "  Denl  reproving  Sin."  The 
gnat  aitist  has  by  prophetic,  pencil,  portrayed  the  exact  features  of 
Benjamin  F.  Butler.  As  statues  wil1.  no  doubt,  he  erected  to  him  in 
all  the  Federal  cities,  I  suggest  that  the  holy  Father,  Pius  the  Ninth, 
be  urg<  ntly  solicited  to  send  this  painting  to  the  city  of  New  Orleans, 
for  the  present  and  all  future  ages    to    behold  with  horror  and  disgust. 

In  the  small  city  of  Baton  Itouge,  the  i  nvmy  took  special  delight  in 
destroying  mt  only  public,  but  private  property.  Not  satisfied  with 
burning  the  State  House,  with  its  valuable  library,  they  took  a 
malicious  pleasure  in  robbing  nearly  every  private  residence  in  the 
place.  They  carried  away  a*  part  of  their  "  warlike \  tr>yphie* ,"  fifty 
private  pianos.  The  wardrobes  of  ladies  were  broken  open  and  searched 
by  Yankee  commissioned  officers,  ami  their  silk  dresses  were  taken  by 
these  same  officers  and  sent  to  their  own  families  in  Yankee  land. 

The  Provost  Marshal  at  Baton  Rouge,  an  officer  thought  by  .some  of 
our  people  to  be  a  gentleman,  and  treated  as  such,  was  the  foremost 
man,  the  leader,  in  this  paltry  theft.  When  an  officer  under  orders 
from  his  General  drives  off  a  gang  of  negroes,  he  can  perhaps  bo 
excused,  for  he  s  obeying  orders.  But  when  a  Federal  officer  with  a 
commission  in  his  pocket,  robs  defenceless  widows  of  their  pianos,  and 
steals  their  silk  dresses,  what  can  you  think  of  such  a  nation.  They 
are  robbers  all.  In  Point  Coupee,  they  deliberately  fired  their  cannon 
upon  the  Parish  church  while  the  people  were  engaged  in  worship  j 
and  in  Florida  they  tore  the  sacred  emblems  of  the  Saviour  from  the 
altar  of  the  Living  God,  and  with  unh  -ly  hands  prostituted  them  in 
tin  ir  filthy  camps.  If  all  the  rich  household  furniture,  and  jewels,  and 
plate,  and  coin,  that  Federal  officers  have  stolon  foom  the  people  of  this 
Confederacy  were  heaped  into  one  vast  pile,  it  Would  form  a  huge 
monument  of  shame  at  which  the  civilized  and  christian  world  would 
stand  aghast  '.      Yet,  no    Federal    officer    has    ever    heeii     punished     for 

these  robberies ;  on  the  contrary,  all  have  been  promoted      The  Beast, 

and  Ncal  Dow,  and  Milroy,  and  Hunter,  with  a  host  of  lesser  scoundrels, 
like  Dudley  and  Killhorn.  still  go  unwhipped  of  ju>tice.  The  jewels 
which  they  have  torn  from  the  persons  of  the  most  respectable  holies 
in  the  country,  they  now  offer  for  sale  in  th<  pub  ic  in  ark  i  K  The 
army  and  the  navy  flob — Commanding  Generals  and  Com  mod  orefl  steal. 
Some  fancy  a  lik*  1  v  negro  pirl,  others  prefer  a  carriage  and  hoi 
while  a  third  will  take  your  piano  or  your  wife's  >ilk  dressCB.  'I  here 
IS  a  wild  hunt  for  plunder,  a  mania  for  stealing,  from  the  Major 
General  down  to  the  humblest  pr;v;ite  in  the  ranks  And  all  this  is 
done  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and  countenanced,  yea,  applauded,  by 
the  people  who  rend  the  Bible  and  claim  to  be  christians  ! 

*v\  hen  Warren  Hastings  returned  to  England,  with  his  skirts  dripping 
with  Indian  blood,  ami  his  pockets  filled  with  Indian  gold,  In  Was  met 
by  the  eloquent  rebuke  of  Byrkr  and  Sheridan,  and  a  host  of  m  hie 
Rritnm       He  wa«  *tt*\$t\+<%£  jp{jy)  fc^a/jj*  enuntry.  and    impeaehH 


fur  high  crimes  Mid  misdemeanors.  In  eloquent,  burning,  and  indig- 
ii;mt  language,  be  w  I  denounced  an  the  enemy  of  mankind.  There  is 
no  Barke,  no  Sheridan  in  the  Federal  Congress.  Bat  the  robber  who 
returns  front  the  Sooth  with  ■  hundred  ©old  blooded  murders  upon  his 
soul,  and  millions  of  stolen  property  in  his  possession,  is  honored  aud 
promoted  and  feted, and  bespattered  with  fulsome  praise. 

Bui  let  us  turn  from  these  disgusting  soenes  to  more  pleasant  topics. 

In  ;i  recent  tour  through  mort  of  the  parishes  of  the  State,  I  found 
the  great  wants  of  the  country  to  be  cotton  cards  and  medicines.  Our 
fair  country-women  have  been  the  truest  patriots  of  the  land.  The 
main  object  of  theil  lives  seem  to  be  to  clothe  their  sons  and  brothers. 
]t  ig  ;i  pleasing  sight  to  visit  the  farm-house-*  of  the  State  in  these 
warlike  times.  Sou  will  find  the  mother  and  her  daughters  seated 
around  the  fire  side,  pljing  the  loom,  the  spindle  and  the  needle — all 
busiK  engaged  in  making  clothing  for  their  soldier  boys.  Heaven  will 
smile  upon  these  noble  women,  and  a  grateful  country  will  ever  hold 
them  the  doare*^  treasure  on  earth.  I  shall  in  due  time  recommend  to 
you,  that  you  enact.  ■  law,  piecing  in  the  hands  of  ea-h  female  of  this 
State,  shove  the  age  of  eighteen,  a  pair  of  cotton  cards,  free  of  cost 
and  charg 

1  shall  further  recommend  to  yon  tbe  passage,  of  a  bill  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  the  people  of  the  State  with  medicines.  In  many 
portions  of  tbe  country,  calomel,  opium,  aud  quinine  cannot  be  had. 
The  people  mu-t  have  them  ;  and  1  shall  recommend  that  the  Executive 
be  empowered  to  send  competent  and  trustworthy  agents  to  purchase 
a  supply  of  these  accessary  articles  for  the  people  of  the  State.  I 
propose,  when  purchased,  that  they  be  distributed  among  the  practising 
physicians  at  cost  and  charges,  requiring  them  by  bond,  to  administer 
the  medicines  to  their  patients  at  the  same  prices.  With  a  plenty  of 
cot  on  cards  we  can  clothe  our  soldiers  in  the  field,  and  with  a  plenty 
of  medicinef*,  we  can  heal  our  sick  at  home — and  backed  by  a  patriotic 
people,  wv  will  light  the  enemy  for  forty  years  to  come.  When  was 
there  ever  seen,  since  the  world  began,  so  much  patriotism  exhibited 
as  vmi  find  among  the  ladies  of  New  Orleans.  They  have  been 
imprisoned,  robbed  and  insulted.  Like  the  chosen  people  of  God  who 
mi  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  they  are  now  weeping  in  their  captivity, 
and  looking  with  anxious  hearts  for  the  coining  of  our  armies,  and  the 
triumph  of  our  cause.  Many  of  our  noble  women,  hearing  of  the 
sufferings  and  infults  of  tbeir  sisters  in  the  city,  have  tied  tbe  approach 
of  the  enemy,  and  now  with  their  tender  children  are  living  in 
wretched  hovels,  battling  the  discomforts  of  life  and  the  hardships  of 
war  with  hearts  of  Spartan  mothers.  They  shall  see  their  homes  again, 
and 

"The  baby  that's  sleeping 
While  its  mother  is  weeping," 

shall  live  to  be  the  joy  of  its  mother's  heart.  Oh,  Mothers  of 
Louisiana,  God  Almighty  bless  you  in  this  your  hoar  of  trial  !  Kiss 
ymir  gentle  babes  and  send  your  sons  to  battle.  Your  prayers  have 
pierced  the  clouds — they  have  ascended  to  the  skies,  and  our  Heavenly 
Father  will,  in  his  own  good  time,  auswer  your  petitions.  We  are  told 
in  the  Sacred  Scriptures  that  Miriam  once  stood  upon  the  Red  Sea 
banks  and  clapped  her  hands  for  joy,  for  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh  were 
destroyed — "  the  horse  and  the  rider  were  thrown  into  the  sea."  Yes, 
ladies  of  Louisiana,  you  too  shall  clap  yonr  hands  for  joy,  for  we  will 
triumph.  Tke  vandal  hosts  of  the  destroyer  will  be  hurled  back  to 
theil  homes,  and  peace,  gentle  peace,  with  healing  in  his 
wings,  will  come  aud  bind  up  the  broken  hearts,  and  bless  our  distracted 
land. 

And  now,  Gentlemen  of  the  Geueral    Assembly,  I  cannot  close  this 


address  without  touching  upon  a  very  important  subject — by  far  the. 
most  important  that  will  come  before  you.  You  are  the  auditory  nerve 
of  this  State.  What  is  spoken  here  is,  or  will  be,  heard  in  every 
portion  of  the  land.  I  therefore  address  the  people  of  Louisiana 
through  you  to-day.  Would  to  God  that  all  my  fellow  citizens  were 
here  on  this  occasion.  If  a  soldier  deserts  his  flag,  haves  the  army 
without  permission,  and  comes  home  to  look  after  his  wife  and  children, 
do  not  you  and  I,  and  all  the  people,  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  him  ? 
A  hue  and  cry  is  raised  — the  cavalry  is  sent  out — he  is  arrested,  court- 
martialed,  and  punished  as  a  deserter.  Why?  Because  there  is  an 
obligation  resting  upon  him,  to  obey  his  commanding  officer,  stand  by 
his  colors  and  fight  the  battles  of  his  country.  There  is  an  obligation 
equally  as  strong  resting  upon  those  who  stay  at  home  and  enjoy  the 
comfort  of  life,  to  support  the  soldier's  wife  and  children.  You  men 
of  wealth  whom  God  has  blessed  in  "  basket  and  in  store,"  open  your 
corn  cribs  and  you  meat  houses,  and  send  lor  the  soldier's  wife  and 
childreu.  Bid  them  come  freely,  without  money  aud  without  price, 
and  consider  it  not  only  a  duty,  but  a  privilege  to  aid  them.  Oh,  you 
have  a  fearful  responsibility  resting  upon  you.  You  have  it  now  in 
your  power  to  do  much  good  to  \our  country,  for  by  feeding  the 
soldier's  wives  at  home,  you  will  keep  the  soldiers  themselves  in  the 
field.  Most  of  the  desertions  that  take  place  are  caused  by  news  from 
home  that  the  soldier's  family  is  starving 

Our  wealthy  men,  generally  have  nobly  done  their  duty.  They 
have  given  their  sons  cheertully,  and  their  substance  ficely,  to  the 
Confederacy.  They  have  opened  their  barns  and  store-houses  to  tho 
poor  and  the  needy,  and  are  now,  with  generous  hearts,  doing  all  in 
their  power  for  our  sacred  cause.  Noble  Louisiauians,  be  not  weary 
in  well  doing.  You  will  be  embalmed  in  the  affections  of  your  couu- 
tiymen,  and  the  recipients  of  your  kindness  will  ever  bless  you. 

There  are  however,  I  am  s..rry  to  say  it,  a  few  men  in  our  midst, 
who  seem  to  take  no  interest  whatever  in  this  war.  They  send  their 
negroes  to  labor  on  the  public  works  through  compulsion,  aud  pay  their 
taxes  grudgingly.  They  stay  at  home  and  hoard  up  their  riches  with 
miserly  care,  and  leave  the  soldiers  to  fight  their  battles  in  the  field. 

'J  heir  barns  and  their  store  houses  are  shut  up  to  all  except  the 
monied  man,  the  speculator,  who  buys  in  large  quantities,  and  then 
grows  fat  upon  the  necessities  of  the  poor.  To  these  men  I  would  say, 
"  the  talent  which  you  ha-  e  received,  and  digged  and  hid  in  the 
earth  shall  be  taken  from  you"  If  we  fail,  the  robber  will  lay  his 
rough  and  heavy  hands  upon  your  lands  and  your  slaves,  and  neither 
you  nor  your  children  will  ever  enjoy  them  again.  What  are  your 
broad  acies  and  your  hundreds  of  slaves  compared  to  the  issues  of  the 
great  struggle  now  going  on  in  this  country.  The  lurid  fires  of  war 
are  now  blazing  around  you.  The  enemy  is  at  your  door,  and  you  sit 
still  hugging  to  your  bosoms  the  delusive  hope  that  you  will  make 
some  terms  with  him,  and  save  your  property.  If  the  enemy  spared  not 
the  slaves  of  good  Uniou  men,  do  you  think  he  will  spare  yours?  If 
we  fail  your  negroes  will  be  driven  off  at  the  poiut  of  the  bayonet,  and 
your  lands  will  be  parceled  out  amongst  the  hireling  soldiery  of 
Abraham  Lincoln. 

I,  therefore,  urgently  appeal  to  every  man  in  the  State,  not  to 
speculate  in  order  that  he  may  make  more  money,  but  to  do  all  he 
can  for  the  wives  and  children  of  those  who  are  lighting  his  battles. 
I  earnestly  appeal  to  every  man  rich  or  poor,  to  aid  in  every  possible 
way  ho  can,  the  wife  of  the  gallant  soldier,  who  cannot  remain  at 
home  to  take  care  of  his  property,  or  minister  to  the  wants  of  his 
family.  ^ 

It  may  well  be  asked  in  these  troublous  times,  what  will  become  of 
the  negro  ? 


-    statu    (  ,v  ■■  •  -   -     n      *  **  been  flxM  b)  the  immutable    l«ws 

mkee  at  1  -   nol  wish  tochangi   it   even  i 

-  ever      en,  u  now,  and  ever  w  II  be  "  the  h«-i 

1 1  N  nd,  N  sw  V-  1). 

Illinois,  and   you    will    tind   them  everywhere  p  rforwini:  the    me 

r  when  t  tb<  re  Bhonld  be  found  alive 

•  the  enemy,  they    will    have  a  hard    time 

will  not    be  permitted   to   labor  on  the   railroads,   the 

-  the  public  works  of  any  kind,  for  the  Irish  and  the  Dutch 

will  rise  in  mobs  and  drive  them  ulT.     Yankee  s<  ciety  will  not  i  dueate 

then  for  the  bar,  tin'  In  neh,  or  the  pulpit.     Yankee  pride  will  not 

tolerate  their  inter-marriage  with  the  whites.     Driven  fr»»ra   the  social 

circle  and  all  the  industrial   pursuits  of  life,   what  will  become  "I"  the 

negro?     Asa  drivelling   out-cast,  he  will   become  a   mendicant 

I  ret      111.-  doom  will  be  the  prison  and  the  work-house 

There  are  two  kinds  of  abolitionist*  in  the  United  States — thepoliti. 

nd  tin1  religious.     The  religious  steal  the  negroes,  and  the  politi- 

,  i  mi  i"i  liabl  'i  on  in  n  hi,  two-thin  a 

that  have  gone  to  the  enemy,  arc  now  in  their  graves. 

y  are  daily  deserting  and    retun  ing  to  their  old  masters,  sick  and 

:  emaciated,  and  begging  tint  they  may  be  permitted  to  die  at 

home  in  pence      There  was  once  iii  the  liver  parUhea  and  the  lower 

>n  of  tin-  State,  the  in.  -t  contented  and    happy    race  of  laborers 

i   itli       Wusic   and  the   tuerry   laagh  were   nightly 

heard  froru  their  comfortable  quarters,  for  peace  and  plenty  and  quiet 

d  both  master  and  servants.     J>ut    now  desolation,  want,  disease 

till  the  cabins  of  these  once  happy  and  contented  laboreis.     In  an  evil 

hour  ttie  destroyer  ca lie  poisoned  the  ears  and   corrupted  the 

hearts  of  these  people  They  have  either  been  enticed  away  from 
tlnir  comfortable  homes  or  driven  ntl*  by  force  of  arms,  and  now  upon 
hard  fare  and  harder  work  they  can  ouly  dream  <>t    the   blessings  of  the 

old  plantation,  where  the  meat  house  and   corn  crib  were  always  full 

uml  at   their  command. 

The  white  inhabitant*  of  <>ur  State  have  suffered  much  in  this  w.ir, 
but  1  he  black>  have  suffered  far  more  I  have  seen  many  of  these 
unfortunate   creatures   who,  at  the  ri.-k  of  their  lives,  have  run  off  foin 

enemy's  encnmpiueuts.     Tiny    all   give   the  most  heart-rendering 
■couunt  of  their  sufferings.     Men,  women  and   children  arc  crowded 

ther  in  mis  rable  huts.     No  attention    is  paid    to    the    sick,    but 
little  medicine,  and  no  nurses.     Mothers  die  on  the  cold  ground,  with 

their  lite  helpless  children  around  them.  In  their  own  language, 
"  the  i »'.'[  r  was  B<  Idom  sent  for,  and  when  he  did  come  the  sick  ones 
d,"  and  when  they  died  they  were  buried  more  like  dog! 
thm  human  being> !  What  a  commentary  on  Yankee  philanthropy  ! 
They  first  Killed  the  negro  to  make  him  l'i\c,  and  then  refuse  him  a 
cbristia  i  burial  ! ! 

We  will  carry   the    institution    of    domestic    slavery  with    us   trium- 
phantly through  this  war,    and   then  it  will  rest  on    B  firmer  basis    than 
.and   be   administered  better  and  more  widely.     This    institution 

Will     triumph     wilti     OS,    because   it  is    right  and   just    in    the  sight    of 

Almight)  <"d      That  best  of  all    books,  the  Bible,  which  ^  so  much 

iy  the    Abolitionists,  from    the  begin  ing  to  the  end   thereof, 

rcry.     The  patriarchs  were  all  slave-holder*,   and   bought 

and  Sold  their  Slaves    then    a-  wed,,  now*       The    same    inspired  men  to 

whom    the  Ten   Commandments    were    delivered,    and   who  stood  in 

the  presence  of  the  Great   Jehovah,  gave  laws  for  the  government  of 

r       ;  ■•  Lincoln  and  his  followers  sa)    that   it  is   an   awful 

Mil  to  own  a  Blave,  but  that  it  is  not  only  right  but  highly  commendable 

to  bum  a  chur.h,  rob    the  widow    and    the    orphan,    and   shoot  down 

unoffending  citizen-  !  !      It  it  no  harm  to  break  open  a  Masouic  Lodge 


and  with  sacrilegious  hands  steal  and  desecrate  its  regalia  !  It  is  all 
r.'ght  and  proper  to  devastate  whole  parishes,  burn  villages  and  barns 
and  storehouses,  bombard  cities  without  notice,  and  hang  non-com- 
batants; but  oh  !  it  is  a  terrible  crime  to  buy  a  negro,  treat  him  well, 
and  let  him  work  for  you  !  Shame,  eternal  burning  shame  upon  such 
loathsome  hyprocrisy  !  There  ever  has  been,  and  there  is  now,  the 
kindest  feeling  existing  between  the  master  and  his  servants.  Not- 
withstanding a  brutal  and  vindictive  enemy  has  advised  tb  negro  to 
murder  their  masters,  there  have  been  no  evidence  of  insurrection  in 
our  midst — on  the  contrary  there  are  hundreds  of  instances  where  the 
ma;        '  >ne  to  the  war  and  left  his  wife   and   children    in    the 

hands  of  his  negroes,  and  well  have  tiny  served,  and  guarded,  and 
protected  them. 

When  the  children  of  Israel  went  up  out  of  Egypt  to  the  promised 
land,  they  took  their  servants  with  them.  Master  and  servant  hand  in 
hand  togethei  3      and  when  safely  over,  they  both  alike 

rejoioed  at    the  destruction  of  their   pursuer.     The  faithful   historian 
who  shall  in  after  times  write  the  history  of  this  war,    will   doubt 
record  many  instances  wherein  the  nogro   Blave  has  been  unfaithful  to 
his  owner — but  he  will,  on  the  other  hand,  devote  many  a  bright  | 
to  the  deep  fidelity  and  noble  heroism  of  the  servant  in  defence  <>i  the 
rights  and   interests  of  his  master,  and  that   fa  may   close  his 

vol;;  ing  this  important  fact— that  '■  ai    the  close   of  the 

between   the  North  and  the  South,  master  and    servant 
were  found  in  the  ranks,    Bide   by  side,   fighting  bravely,  shoulder   to 
shoulder,  for  the  independence  which  thej  have  so  gloriously  achie> 
and  for  the  liberties  which  they  now  en 

n  to  call    the  attention  of  the   General  Assembly 
to  the    passage  of  Buch    laws    as   I    think  the  time    demand    and    the 
try  require.      Especially  shall  I  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  unauthorized  and  illegal   manner  in  which    the    ''  !ui| .-. 
mentAct  I  in  this  State.    Officers     rtJ  feeclkiming  to 

to  be  officers  ol  ,  in  making  their  illegal  impri 

have  added  insult  to  injury.     This   must   1  I   1  shall  look 

f  alaw  makingsnehoffeu  id  punish- 

imprisonment  in  the  State  Pel  I  '     |  xjpl    □  usl 

shall  be  ]  r  civil  rights,     [n  thi    connection,   I    am 

happ  ation  of  the  conduct  of  Lt.  <    d. 

K.  1  I  'tlieer  of  tl       :  :incnt,  and  of 

■ing  officers  have  not  only   done 

I'OCU 

'lie  civil  and    military  authoi  y    have 

bmitted  irta  of  t! 

Buch 
of  a 
grateful  count  i 

i    no   ordinary   occi 
t  I 

ire  the  liherli 
my  in  all  ; 

cent-  i    eounti;  action. 

every  man     '■  . 
ry  man  w! 

Be 

ifo. 


*  1 


I 


IT    **^ 


^ 


*3 


